Poison
by amethyst-jt
Summary: On the night of Extreme Rules, Roman is surprised by the sudden appearance of his lover Seth. Is Seth back because he wants to continue their relationship or is he only using Roman to get back the title he never lost?
1. Extreme Rules

It was the night of Extreme Rules and Roman had just beaten AJ Styles to retain his championship belt. He was exhausted but happy and proud of the match they had just put on and he celebrated with the fans that supported him and tried to ignore the ones that didn't. It hurt a little but as long as he had the support of his friends and family and his fans, he could keep going with a smile on his face.

Roman faintly heard the cheers increase before he was spun around and he saw a glimpse of the man he loved. He briefly thought that Seth was here to celebrate with him until he felt himself being pushed down into position for a Pedigree. He was surprised but he was also a professional so he took the Pedigree and lay on the mat, faking being in pain. A small part of him was a little confused as to why Seth was there and hadn't told him, but a bigger part was happy and excited that Seth was back.

He waited until Seth had left the ring before grabbing his title and slowly heading backstage. He wanted to run to the locker room, grab Seth in a huge bear hug and kiss the life out of him, but he knew that Seth wouldn't like that so he calmly walked back and hoped Seth was in the locker room. He hadn't seen Seth since Wrestlemania weekend and Seth had been more than a little depressed that his leg wasn't healing as fast as he wanted it to, so things had been a little strained between them.

Roman walked into the dressing room he shared with his cousins and he saw Seth alone waiting for him in his new ridiculously tight pants and t-shirt with a smirk on his face. He walked in quickly and shut the door behind him and he barely had time to turn around before Seth had jumped up into his arms and wrapped his legs around his waist. He dropped his championship belt and held onto Seth tightly so he wouldn't fall and Seth smashed their lips together in a passionate kiss. He groaned into the kiss, he had missed Seth so much while he was away and he hadn't been sure if they would go back to having a relationship or not and he felt a weight lift off his heart now that he had Seth back in his arms. The kiss went on for a long time until Roman started to worry about Seth's knee and set him back down on his feet.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were coming back today?" Roman asked, running his fingers through Seth's wet hair.

"Because I wanted to surprise you, obviously." Seth grinned. "You should have seen your face when you saw me standing there."

Roman grinned back. "How's the knee?"

"I'm all good." Seth replied. "Couldn't you tell from that totally awesome Pedigree?"

Roman rolled his eyes. "What are your plans for the rest of the night?"

"Well I had planned on getting fucked but you don't seem to be very open to the idea." Seth said with a fake pout.

"I'm very open to that idea." Roman said grabbing Seth around the hips. "Just let me get a shower first before we go."

"You know, we can always kill two birds with one stone and get dirty and clean at the same time." Seth said, grabbing Roman's ass and squeezing.

Roman closed his eyes and tried to summon all of his control. "This is a public locker room, remember. Anyone could walk in and see us."

Seth wrinkled his nose. "Spoilsport."

Roman started taking his gear off and noticed Seth taking his off as well. Seth was usually quick to take his clothes off but he took his time taking his pants off and that's when Roman noticed the knee brace under Seth's pants. Seth turned away and took the brace off, dropping it on top of his duffle bag and walking into the shower room. Roman followed Seth into the shower and took a place near Seth but not right beside him so if anyone that didn't know they were together came in, it wouldn't look suspicious.

Roman started soaping up his big body, enjoying the warm spray soothing his muscles after a hard match. He wanted to avoid looking at Seth's body so he wouldn't get an erection he wouldn't be able to hide if someone walked in. He heard a soft sigh and looked over at Seth who had turned to face him and was slowly lathering his muscular body.

Roman knew he shouldn't look but he couldn't take his eyes away from Seth. Seth took his time soaping up his body, rubbing each muscle lovingly but it wasn't until he was washing his pecs and pinching his nipples that Roman figured out that Seth was purposefully trying to turn him on. He turned his head away, frustrated with himself and continued washing.

He lasted a few minutes before risking another glance in Seth's direction and his brain suddenly stopped working properly. Seth had turned so that his back was to Roman and he was lathering his ass with great care. His back was arched and his ass was sticking out, round and glorious and all Roman wanted to do was grab it and never let it go. He watched, almost hypnotized as Seth rubbed and caressed his ass before parting his cheeks.

Roman slammed his eyes shut and turned back to his own shower, grabbing the shampoo so he could wash his hair and not be able to open his eyes for a while. He heard Seth laugh at him and he blushed and continued washing and conditioning his hair. He finished up as fast as he could and as he was leaving the shower room, Seth was right behind him.

They got dressed and Seth still had that infuriating smirk on his face and Roman wanted to kiss it off but he had to keep telling himself that they were in a public place. He bent over and zipped his duffle bag closed and Seth slapped his ass. He groaned as his cock jumped and he spun around and grabbed Seth's arms pinning them behind Seth's back as he pulled his body tightly into his.

"You're such a fuckin' tease." Roman growled out in frustration as Seth grinned in victory.

"You know you love it." Seth said, licking his lips seductively. "You love being the good boy to my bad boy. It turns you on and luckily for you, I love being bad."

Seth moved forward and claimed Roman's lips in a hard kiss, biting on Roman's bottom lip as he pulled away. Roman pushed him away and rubbed his sore lip. _What was up with Seth, he was never so aggressive and wasn't into playing games?_

"Let's get out of here and get to the good stuff." Seth said, grabbing his bag and walking to the door. Roman shook his head and followed Seth out the door.

* * *

The trip to the hotel couldn't go fast enough for Roman. Seth didn't need to try and seduce him in the locker room, the second Seth's lips touched his he was battling with himself over taking him right there and then. They got their room keys and hurried to their hotel room dragging their luggage with them. Seth got into the room first and Roman slammed the door behind him after putting the do not disturb sign on the knob and making sure the door was double locked. By the time he turned around, Seth was already taking his clothes off.

"Slow down, baby boy." Roman said, leaning against the wall and enjoying the view. "There's no need to rush."

Seth looked up and raised his eyebrow. "Get your clothes off now or I'll rip them off."

Roman frowned. "Give me a minute, I have to... check my messages." He walked quickly into the bathroom with his phone. _Was it his imagination or was Seth acting off?_ Maybe he was just having trouble adjusting to the stress of being back. Deciding that that must be the reason for his behavior, he walked back out into the bedroom.

The first thing he noticed was how dim the room was. Neither of them liked having sex in the dark so that was off too. Seth was propped up on the bed like a beautiful offering, but Roman could barely see him, so he turned the bedside lamp on. He glanced at Seth's face and saw frustration in his eyes. Roman stepped back and started taking his clothes off and Seth licked his lips as he watched. Roman looked Seth's body over and noticed all of the changes he hadn't noticed while he was trying not to look in the shower. Seth was definitely bigger now and looking at the way he was positioned, it suddenly occurred to Roman why Seth had turned the lights off, he was self-conscious about his knee.

Roman got on his knees on the bed and crawled up Seth's body and he smirked at the desire he saw in Seth's eyes. He lowered himself down and kissed Seth slowly and lovingly. Seth slid his hands up into Roman's hair and tried to change the kiss and make it rougher but Roman wouldn't let him. He knew Seth well enough that he knew Seth would want to try and make it fast and hard, but he had waited for Seth so long that he was going to make it slow.

Roman kissed his way down Seth's face, neck, and collar bone and he could tell Seth was trying not to moan as he did, so he nipped a little bite right in the corner of Seth's neck and was rewarded with a whimper.

"Can't you just fuck me?" Seth asked, breathless. "It's been too long."

"That was your decision and fucking you long and slow is mine." Roman said looking up into Seth's eyes before kissing all over Seth's chest and teasing his nipples. Roman knew that Seth liked it fast, and so had he in the beginning, but since he realized that he was in love with Seth, he had wanted to slow down more often and take his time to show his appreciation and love for Seth without telling him. Love was a word Seth hated so Roman had to try and show him instead of tell him.

He kissed his way down Seth's abs and finally reached his prize. He ran his lips along Seth's shaft, his facial hair gently scratching along and Seth shuddered.

"Don't tease." Seth breathed.

"Oh, but it's okay to tease me?" Roman said, quickly licking the tip of Seth's cock and pulling away. "Soaping up like you were in a porno and trying to get me to fuck you in the shower."

Seth looked at him with a pitiful look in his eyes and it was Roman's turn to smirk.

"Just missed you." Seth mumbled, looking away in embarrassment. It was funny how Seth was so aggressive and seductive when he thought he could get a quickie, but turned shy and nervous whenever Roman wanted to go slow.

"I missed you too." Roman said, kissing Seth's hip. He pushed Seth's leg down flat and saw the scar from Seth's surgery. He ran his fingers gently over it and he looked up when he heard Seth gasp.

"Don't." Seth said, not looking down. "It's ugly."

Roman pressed his lips to the scar in a gentle kiss before leaning up and grabbing Seth's chin and making Seth look at him. "Nothing about you is ugly to me." He kissed Seth's lips firmly. "You're perfect." He pressed his lips to Seth's again and he felt Seth smile and he smiled back and kissed him harder.

"Please..." Seth whispered. "I don't want to wait anymore. I need you."

"I don't want to go fast." Roman argued.

"First time fast, second time slow?" Seth compromised.

"I think I can live with that." Roman said, smiling down at Seth. "But you can't back out when it's time for round two. I _will_ take my time and you _will_ scream."

"Yes, I agree but you really need to stop talking right now and kiss me." Seth said, his brown eyes pleading and really how could Roman say no to that?

Roman kissed Seth until they were both breathless and reached over to his discarded jeans and pulled out the lube.

"I don't have any condoms because I didn't know you were coming back today." Roman said turning back to Seth and popping the cap on the lube.

"That's okay." Seth said watching Roman slick up his fingers. "I haven't been with anyone else."

Roman paused. "Really? Me neither." He was so relieved, even after all this time, he didn't really know where he and Seth stood, relationship wise. He had hinted many times that he wanted to be more than friends with benefits, but whenever he brought it up, Seth managed to distract him usually with his mouth ending up somewhere on his body.

Seth reached up and yanked him down by his hair. "Don't get distracted now, man."

"Sorry." Roman said sheepishly. He nudged Seth's legs wider apart and ran the tip of his finger teasingly over his entrance.

"Damn it, Roman!" Seth said angrily. "Stop it with the teasing, and get those fingers inside me or I'll punch you right in the face."

Roman grinned in amusement at Seth's tantrum and slid his finger slowly inside of him and Seth groaned with pleasure. Roman watched Seth with rapt attention as he got him ready. He was so beautiful like this, arching his back off the bed, panting and shuddering whenever one of Roman's fingers brushed over his prostate and Roman couldn't help but lean down and kiss him hard.

Seth moaned into the kiss and Roman slicked himself up quickly and slid into Seth and it felt just like coming home. He held himself still and buried his head in Seth's shoulder enjoying the feeling of being joined together again. He could stay like this forever.

"I missed you." Roman mumbled into Seth's shoulder and Seth must have heard him because he ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

When Seth lightly pulled his hair, he knew it was time to move so he pulled out a little and thrust himself back in. There was no more time for teasing, now was all about pleasure. He thrust into Seth over and over at a steady pace and listened to the moans and little cries he was making and Roman was so turned on.

"Harder, harder, harder." Seth was chanting and Roman eagerly obliged, pounding into Seth as hard as he dared, trying not to jostle his knee too much.

He angled himself so that he was hitting Set's sweet spot instead of just brushing it and Seth went wild, bucking and arching off the bed and painting Roman with his cum.

Roman couldn't wait anymore and he chased his own climax with a final hard thrust and came crying out Seth's name.

He looked down at Seth and Seth was looking back at him with a soft smile. _I wish I could tell you how much I love you._

* * *

 _ ***I changed a few details here and there, mostly concerning the Money in the Bank PPV. This story was inspired by the song Poison by Elise Estrada.**_


	2. Crazy In Love

Roman woke up the next morning spooned up against Seth. He tightened his arm around Seth and drew him in as close as he could. He still couldn't believe Seth was back in his arms again after so long.

"What time is it?" Seth asked, turning to look over his shoulder.

Roman reached over to check the clock on his phone. "A little after 11."

"Damn." Seth said running his hand over his face.

Roman loosened his hold on Seth a little since Seth didn't like to cuddle and would probably get up quickly but Seth just lay there and snuggled his body back into Roman. Though it was a little odd for Seth to cuddle with him, Roman would take full advantage of the situation and enjoy the closeness.

They should have woken up earlier but Roman wanted to sleep in. Round two had taken quite a while and they didn't get to sleep until late, besides he did have a grueling match last night and could use some rest and relaxation. There was nothing more relaxing than having Seth in his arms.

"How are you feeling?" he asked Seth, trailing kisses down Seth's back over each of his tattoos. It was something that they started doing when they first started hooking up. Seth liked to trace his fingers over the lines of Roman's tattoo and Roman liked to kiss Seths. Seth always blushed when he kissed the tattoo on his wrist.

"What are you asking about?" Seth asked, a shiver going through his body. "My knee or my ass?"

Roman laughed. "I was asking about your knee but I hope your ass doesn't hurt too."

"Both are fine." Seth answered. "I'm fine."

"Good." Roman said. "I'm a worrier and I know it bothers you that I keep asking, but I care you know."

Seth hid his face in the pillow. "I know."

The atmosphere became awkward and Roman wished he hadn't told Seth that he cared about him. Feelings were too much pressure for Seth and he was worried that he would push Seth away.

"We should probably get up and grab a shower." Seth mumbled into the pillow. "We need to get some lunch too."

"Yeah." he said, sitting up after Seth did. "I sure worked up an appetite last night."

"Me too, baby. Me too." Seth said walking into the bathroom.

Roman paused, hearing what Seth said. Seth never called him sweet names, it was something else that was out of character for Seth and Roman couldn't help but hope that it meant Seth had feelings for him.

* * *

They shared the shower but didn't fool around in consideration for Seth's knee and the possibility of slipping. They walked back into the room to get dressed and Roman stepped in front of Seth and pushed him down on the bed gently.

"What are you doing, Ro?" Seth asked with a confused look on his face. "I thought we were going for lunch."

"Soon." Roman answered. "There's something else I want to taste first."

Roman opened Seth's towel as he lay on his back with his arms spread out. Roman kneeled down on the floor parting Seth's legs wide and running his hands over Seth's thighs. He felt Seth shudder under his touch and he smiled before taking the tip of Seth's hardening cock into his mouth.

He sucked gently while his tongue teased the slit and his hand stroked Seth's cock up and down. He pulled off when he heard Seth groan and he licked and kissed and nibbled at Seth's cock before sliding it deep into his mouth. He held Seth's hips down and started bobbing his head up and down on Seth's hard erection, sucking him just the way that he knew Seth liked it and the whimpers coming from above him told him he was doing it right.

He loved making Seth happy and would do it anytime he could. The first time he gave Seth a blow job, Seth had been completely shocked. Seth had gotten blow jobs before but only from women, none of the men he had been with had been willing to do this for him, even though they were more than willing to receive them from him. Roman really couldn't understand that. Seth's cock was gorgeous and meant to be worshiped, and how could anyone not want to see his face or hear his moans when he came.

This time felt a little strange though. Usually Seth kept up a steady stream of dirty talk in-between his moans, sometimes even making Roman blush even though he had his mouth wrapped around his cock. This time Seth was quietly whimpering and moaning and he wasn't pulling on Roman's hair like he liked to.

"Oh, Roman." Seth panted. "God, that's amazing."

Roman heart fluttered at Seth's praise and he swirled his tongue around his length and took Seth a little deeper. He felt Seth's fingers thread into his still wet hair and braced himself for Seth's pulling, but it never happened. Seth stroked his hair gently and started muttering under his breath. He couldn't hear much of what Seth was saying but he did hear _'yes', 'more', 'Roman'_ and _'God'_.

It didn't take very long for Seth to flood Roman's mouth with cum which Roman drank down eagerly. It felt so amazing to have Seth back again and to show how much he cared even if he couldn't say it. He rested his head on Seth's thigh and looked up at him. Seth was lying on his back with his arm thrown over his eyes, trying to get his breath back and Roman smiled at the sight.

Seth sighed. "Great, now I have to wash again."

Roman laughed. "You're welcome."

* * *

Roman walked over to the table where his cousins were waiting for him to eat lunch. Seth had gone to catch up with some of his friends before they had their afternoon meeting with their bosses.

"Hey, Uce!" Jey said. "You made it. Take a load off."

Roman sat down smiling at his family. Getting to work with his family was great, it helped keep him from getting too homesick.

"Great match last night, Uce." Jimmy said, slapping his back. "I bet it will be a match of the year nominee."

"Maybe." Roman sighed. "I doubt the fans see it that way though."

"Man fuck them!" Jey said angrily. "Who cares if a few jack-ass smarks can't see how hard you work, your friends, family and fans do and that's all that matters."

Roman smiled gratefully at his cousin. "I know."

"So what's up with Seth giving you a Pedigree?" Jimmy asked. "Did you know he was coming back already?"

Roman smiled. "No, I didn't know until I saw him in the ring. He wanted it to be a surprise."

Roman noticed the looks of disapproval on his cousins faces.

"You two aren't back together again are you?" Jimmy asked frowning.

"Seems like it." Roman answered, looking down to avoid the looks on their faces.

"Oh Uce, how can you do that to yourself again?" Jey said, his frown almost matching Jimmy's.

"How many times have you talked since he was hurt?" Jimmy asked. "Once, twice."

"Three times." Roman answered sadly. "Once after the surgery, once on Christmas and at Wrestlemania. But he wanted to focus on getting better, I can understand that."

"Does he understand how hurt you were while he was ignoring you?" Jimmy asked. "Does he even care about the rough time you've been having?"

Roman didn't answer. He couldn't tell them that he had wondered the same things and that in the end, he didn't care. He loved Seth too much. "He wants to be with me now and that's all that matters."

Jey sighed. "What if he's just using you to get the title back?"

"He's not." Roman answered quickly. "I believe that he genuinely wants to be with me."

"Okay Uce, we'll leave you alone." Jimmy said. "But watch your back."

"I will." Roman said, trying to smile.

* * *

Roman met up with Seth after lunch and went to their meeting with Vince, Stephanie, Hunter and the rest of the team.

"First of all." Stephanie said. "Great match last night Roman, you and AJ really pulled out all the stops."

"Thanks." Roman said smiling. "AJ and I really worked hard to put on a good performance."

Stephanie nodded. "And Seth, we're so glad to have you back here. Are you good to go?"

"Yes, ma'am." Seth said excitedly. "Ready and raring to go."

"Good." Hunter said gruffly. "Because we're putting you right back into the main event picture. You're going after Roman's title."

Seth smiled in total satisfaction. "That's what I was hoping for."


	3. Lost In You

Seth was on cloud nine as they walked to their locker room at the arena later that night for Raw and he was practically skipping. Roman walked quietly behind him and tried to keep the niggling little doubts that his cousins had given him about Seth's motives away. He tried to think that it was the most logical thing for the bosses to do and that Seth wasn't just using him. He had no say in matches whatsoever so Seth couldn't be using him, right?

Roman walked silently into the locker room and put his bag down on the bench and he heard the sound of the door locking. He turned around and saw Seth watching him with a predatory gleam in his eye. Seth walked over and grabbed him by the back of his head and kissed him hard, his tongue sliding forcefully into Roman's mouth.

Roman pulled away. "What are you doing Seth?"

"I want you to fuck me right here, right now." Seth said, kissing Roman again.

Roman pushed Seth away. "We can't do that, we're at work!"

"Don't be such a prude." Seth said pulling him close again. "You know you want me."

"I said no Seth." Roman said, walking away and going to his duffle bag. "If we got caught we could ruin our careers."

Seth didn't respond and Roman knew that he was in the doghouse now but he couldn't risk their careers for a little fun. He was a grown man and even though his body was begging him do what Seth asked, his mind knew that now was not the place or time.

Roman sighed and turned around but wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted him. Seth was spread out, totally naked on the sofa with his fingers buried inside himself. Roman's mouth fell open in shock even as his body responded to the sight in front of him.

Roman licked his suddenly dry lips. "What are you doing?"

Seth let out a moan better than any porn star ever could. "Getting myself ready for your cock."

Roman turned away and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "What part of 'no' do you not understand?"

"The entire fact that you're saying it." Seth said as Roman tried to ignore the squelching sound of the lube sliding on his flesh. "Since when do you say no to sex?"

"You know I don't like to fool around at work, that hasn't changed." Roman said, pacing around the locker room.

"One time won't hurt anything." Seth whimpered. "The door's locked."

Roman shook his head and turned around but Seth was right in front of him, his eyes dark with lust and his lips parted like he was waiting for a kiss and Roman couldn't think properly anymore. He felt Seth's hands start to unbuckle his belt and pull his jeans down and then his hands were gripping his hot length. Roman groaned and Seth kissed him slowly and teasingly as he stroked him. He brought his hand up and slid it into Seth's hair kissing him deeply and lovingly, stroking his thumb over Seth's cheek. Seth broke the kiss and slipped Roman's shirt off over his head and threw it on the floor while Roman kicked his pants, underwear and shoes off. He didn't even know why he had tried to deny Seth when he wanted him so bad.

Seth put his arms around Roman's neck and started kissing him and Roman put his hands on Seth's hips and drew him close, their hard erections rubbing against each other. Seth took Roman's ear lobe in his teeth and gently bit down making Roman shudder.

"You gonna take me big man?" Seth whispered in his ear. "You gonna pound me so good and fill me up with your cum?"

Roman growled. "Yes I am."

Roman lifted Seth up and Seth wrapped his legs around his waist and held on tight. Seth grabbed the lube off the shelf and squirted some in his hand before reaching down and slicking up Roman's erection. Seth lined Roman's cock up with his entrance and slowly sank down making them both groan. Roman walked closer to the wall and pressed Seth's back up against it and he started thrusting up shallowly into Seth's hot body.

"Fuck Ro." Seth gasped. "You feel so good."

He leaned in and kissed Seth slowly and passionately as he thrust and Seth held on to him tighter.

"Fuck me harder, Ro." Seth whined. "Pound me, wreck me!"

Roman closed his eyes and started bouncing Seth up and down as he thrusted deep into him. Seth started whimpering and slammed his lips down on Roman's, tangling their tongues together and stealing both of their breaths.

Roman held Seth up with one arm around his hips and leaned his other arm against the wall for leverage before thrusting deep and Seth pulled his mouth away with a gasp. He thrust into him harder and Seth leaned forward and buried his face in Roman's shoulder, his arms wrapping around Roman so tight he worried there might be bruises. He buried his face in Seth's hair and kept pounding into him until Seth bit down on his shoulder trying to stifle his cries of pleasure as he came. Seth's entire body wrapped around him like a vice and his clenching muscles forced Roman over the edge as well and he emptied jet after jet of cum inside Seth.

As Roman recovered, he loosened his grip on Seth to put him down but Seth shook his head violently and held on, so Roman walked over to the sofa and lay down on his back with Seth on top of him and he placed a kiss on the top of Seth's head.

They lay there quietly, trying to get their breath back and Roman felt a feather light kiss to his chest right over his heart. "Thank you." Seth said in a small voice.

* * *

The month leading up to Money in the Bank passed like it always did. Lots of training, practice, promos and events with lots of kissing, groping and sex thrown in whenever they could get a spare moment. It was almost like Seth had never left and Roman was happy; he had his man and his belt and he wasn't going to lose either of them any time soon. His cousins still wanted him to be cautious around Seth but he didn't listen, Seth's continuing strange behavior had convinced him that Seth had real feelings for him.

It was the night before the PPV and Seth had come back from training much quieter than usual. He had showered, changed and was fiddling with his phone while Roman lay with his head in Seth's lap watching TV.

"Are you okay?" Roman asked, wondering about the quiet. "You're so quiet."

"I'm fine." Seth answered absentmindedly.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Roman tried again to get Seth to open up.

Seth put his phone down on the bedside table. "No way. I'm excited."

"Are you okay with me retaining the belt?" Roman asked quietly. "I know how much you want it back."

"Everyone wants the belt Roman or they wouldn't be in the company." Seth said, stroking Roman's hair. "I'll have it again someday."

"Of course you will, you're amazing." Roman said turning so he could look up at Seth. "I'm just worried that this will be the last time I ever hold the belt and I want it to last this time."

Seth smiled down at him and his heart fluttered again. "I'm sure we both will have the belts many times in the future. This isn't the end for either of us."

Roman leaned up and took Seth's lips in a sweet kiss.

Seth stroked his hair again with a thoughtful look on his face. "Can I have you tonight? It's been quite a while."

Roman licked his lips thinking. "I think it's been about 10 months since we did that, but I'm more than willing."

Seth smiled and took his clothes off while Roman sat up and did the same. Seth pushed him down on his back and started kissing his neck, his beard scratching over his skin and making him shiver. Seth ran his fingers all over Roman's chest and teased his nipples to hardness before sucking on them and making Roman groan. Seth's ministrations were definitely working and Roman was getting so hard and he needed a touch, a lick, something to help ease the ache but it looked like Seth wasn't going to help him out.

Seth reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the lube before smiling down at Roman like a kid on Christmas morning with his favorite toy and Roman savored that look, hoping to remember it forever. Seth slicked up his finger and brushed it against his hole and Roman shuddered with anticipation and Seth slid his finger in gently.

"Please Seth." Roman gasped. "I need something."

Seth smirked and leaned over close to Roman's cock. "Is this what you need?" Seth asked as he stuck his tongue out close enough to lick him.

"Yes. Please give me your tongue." Roman said, jerking as Seth's finger brushed his sweet spot.

Seth laughed and pulled his head away making Roman groan in frustration. "Damn tease." Roman said slamming his head back on the pillows.

Roman felt another finger about to enter him when Seth took the tip of his cock in his mouth and sucked lightly.

"Ohh, Seth." Roman panted. "That feels so good."

Seth continued prepping him and sucking him lightly until he deemed Roman ready.

"Get up big man." Seth said as he lightly slapped Roman's thigh. "Get off the bed."

Roman got up confused. Seth always liked him on his hands and knees and he didn't have to get off the bed to do that.

Seth lay down on the bed and made himself comfortable. He looked up at Roman and slowly started stroking his hard cock. "Ride me." he said forcefully.

Roman's mouth fell open in shock. "What?"

"Ride me good." Seth said casually.

"But... your knee." Roman mumbled. "I'm heavy. I don't want to hurt you."

"Get on and ride me now." Seth said covering his cock with lube.

Roman swallowed thickly and crawled over to Seth. He raised his leg over Seth and straddled him before shyly grabbing Seth's cock and lining himself up with it. He didn't know why he felt so shy and nervous now, this wasn't his first time bottoming, but it was the first time that he would ride Seth.

Roman had always been a top, he didn't have anything against bottoming but he had never found someone that he wanted to try it with until Seth. A few months after he had realized he was in love with Seth, they had had some drinks and Seth had a few too many. While he was drunk he let slip his secret fantasy of wanting to top Roman and Roman agreed to do it when Seth was sober. Roman had never really understood the stereotypes about tops not giving oral or bottoming occasionally. What did it matter when you were with someone you loved? As long as you both liked it, what was the harm?

Seth had been extra gentle with him for his first time bottoming and he had enjoyed it immensely. Seth was proud that he had enjoyed it and even happier that he had wanted to do more of it in the future. Seth preferred bottoming though so it become more of a special treat for both of them.

Roman felt the tip of Seth's shaft touching his entrance and he slowly sank down on it, groaning at the stretch.

"Fuck you're so tight." Seth said through gritted teeth. "So good."

Roman continued slowly until Seth was fully sheathed before stopping and catching his breath. His eyes closed at the sensation of having Seth inside him again and he felt Seth running his hands over his thighs, soothing him like he was a horse or something. When he felt he was ready, he started to move. He went slowly at first, keeping in mind Seth's knee and not wanting to jostle Seth too much.

Seth slapped his ass hard. "Come on man, I know you can do better than that."

It was the sting of the slap that spurred him on not Seth's words as he finally let go and started riding him in earnest. Seth's hands slid up his chest and tangled in his hair.

"You're so beautiful when you finally let go." Seth said deeply. "Why do you always hold yourself back?"

Roman shook his head slowly, hearing what Seth asked but knowing he couldn't answer. Seth sighed and moved his hands down to Roman's hips and held them hard before thrusting up as Roman sank down.

"Ohh Seth." Roman said breathlessly. "More, please, more."

Roman groaned deeply as Seth took him hard. He panted and leaned down to capture Seth's lips in a searing kiss and whimpered as Seth went so deep it felt like he was touching his heart.

Seth wrapped his arms around him and thrust hard and hit his prostate straight on and his muscles clenched around Seth drawing a moan from him.

"I'm not gonna last long." Seth panted.

Roman's balls were clenched up tight and he knew it wouldn't be long. "Me neither."

They worked together towards their climaxes, panting and moaning, sweat-slick skin slapping together and Seth reached up and fisted Roman's cock, stroking in time with their thrusts. Seth came first and the hot splash of his cum triggered Roman's orgasm and he cried out Seth's name before collapsing on his chest.

He lay in Seth's arms listening to their hearts beating so fast and he felt a sense of contentment he hadn't felt before. That was the moment when he really believed that Seth finally loved him back.


	4. Betrayal and a Broken Heart

They were in the main event at Money in the Bank and the match was coming to a close. Roman had just taken a Pedigree and was lying on the mat trying to get his breath back. The match was almost over, all he needed to do was get up, kick out of another Pedigree and spear Seth to get the win. He felt Seth grab his hair and he got to his feet before Seth pushed him down for the Pedigree. Seth covered him for the pin and just before he could kick out, he heard the ref's hand fall for the third time. Roman heard the bell ring and lay there in shock. _What happened?_

He was supposed to win this match not Seth and the referee knew it. _Why had he counted so fast?_ There wasn't enough time to kick out. He was supposed to still be the champ.

He lay there and heard Lillian announce "Here is your winner and the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins." He heard the cheers of the crowd as Seth celebrated his win and he felt like his heart was breaking. This had to be a mistake. Seth was supposed to lose. He lay in the middle of the ring until he knew Seth had left before getting up and walking up the ramp. He tried to ignore the boos and taunts that were shouted at him, but they hurt more than usual.

When Roman went back stage the first thing he saw was Hunter hugging Seth while everyone congratulated him on his victory. He watched as everyone crowded around Seth, slapping him on the back and he saw Hunter shake the referee's hand. He couldn't be around this anymore, he needed to be alone and think before he talked to Seth. He walked down the hall and into his locker room and shed his clothes. He grabbed a towel and went into the shower and turned the tap to cold. He wanted to cry but there was still that little hope in him that said that there had been a last minute change of plans and that Seth wouldn't have just used him to get the belt. His Seth wouldn't do that no matter how much he wanted to be the champ.

He finished up his shower and got dressed. Seth's bag was still there so he would have to come back sometime and Roman was determined to wait for him. The longer he waited, the more worried he got. He wanted to track Seth down and beg him to tell him that he didn't know anything about the title but in the bottom of his heart, he knew that he had to know. He sat on the bench and put his head in his hands and waited.

* * *

Seth came in an hour later whistling a happy tune but stopped when he saw Roman sitting there waiting for him.

"Hey man, what are you still doing here?" Seth asked calmly. "I thought you'd be with your cousins."

"Obviously I was waiting for you." Roman said dejectedly.

"Oh?" Seth asked, placing the belt down on the bench beside his bag and giving it a loving caress. Roman noticed that the plates had already been changed. "What for?"

"What for?!" Roman shouted.

Seth smirked and started taking his clothes off and walking towards the showers. Roman let him go so he could compose himself before talking again. Seth came out again 10 minutes later and started getting dressed in his street clothes. Roman didn't feel much calmer but he couldn't hold back the conversation they needed to have anymore.

"How long have you known you were going to win tonight?" Roman asked quietly.

Seth rolled his eyes. "Since before I came back."

Roman clenched his fists. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why would I warn the competition?" Seth said, brushing his hair back in a bun. "Only a fool would do something like that and I am no fool."

"Were you playing me?" Roman asked, praying that the answer would be 'no'.

Seth sighed. "You really are stupid aren't you? Of course I was playing you." Seth turned back to the mirror and continued working on his hair. "Distracting the enemy is a brilliant strategy."

Roman felt like his heart was ripping in half right in his chest. "So this was all about the belt then? Why did you act like everything was normal between us?"

"Of course this was about the belt." Seth slammed his brush down on the counter. "You know that being the champ means everything to me and if I had to exploit your little 'feelings' for me then so be it."

Roman stood up and took a step towards Seth before stopping. "Did you ever feel anything for me?"

Seth scoffed. "The only thing I feel for you is pity and disgust."

Roman didn't think he could hurt any worse but Seth just proved him wrong again. He walked forward and put his hands on the counter, trapping Seth's body in the circle of his arms. "Please Seth. You have the belt back and I can forgive you for lying to me, but please don't say you never had feelings for me."

Seth pushed against Roman's chest but he wouldn't let him go. "You're really pathetic you know? I just told you that I played you and never had feelings for you and that can't sink through your stupid little brain." Seth laughed dryly and grabbed Roman's chin and made him look into his eyes. "I don't have feelings for you. The only thing you're good for is this." Seth used his other hand and grabbed Roman's dick through his pants.

Roman flinched as if he'd been burned and Seth pulled both hands away. "You can't mean that. What about last night when you held me? I know you feel something for me."

Seth laughed. "Last night was great. Can you imagine how amazing it felt getting you to fuck yourself on my cock knowing that I was going to be champ today? Any idea how it felt having 'The Guy' writhing on top of me and begging for my cock like a slut? It felt almost as good as winning MY title back."

Roman was stunned, completely and utterly devastated. "I loved you." he whispered.

Seth laughed scornfully. "That's what made this all so easy."

Roman turned around, grabbed his bag and ran out of the room, praying that he could hold back the tears until he got back to the hotel.

* * *

Roman managed to get back to the hotel and took the elevator to his floor. He needed to get a new room but he was so exhausted that all he wanted to do was curl up in bed and forget today even happened. When the elevator opened, he walked towards his room with his head down but he stopped when he saw two pairs of large feet blocking his path. He raised his head and looked into the pitying eyes of his cousins.

"If you're here to say 'I told you so', I don't want to hear it." he said, wearily.

"No Uce, we're here to take care of you." Jimmy said sadly.

"Give Jimmy your key card and he'll get your stuff for you and you can stay the night with me." Jey said, putting his arm around Roman's shoulder.

He silently handed his key card over to Jimmy and let Jey lead him to his room. He was grateful to his cousins for trying to help him, but he just wanted to be alone so he could cry his eyes out without their pitying looks.

Roman dropped his bag on the floor next to the spare bed and sat down on the edge of the bed. He heard Jey moving around in the room but his thoughts were too far away to care what he was doing. The next thing he knew, Jimmy was back with his bags.

"Thanks." he said absentmindedly before getting up and looking through them for something to wear to bed.

Jimmy blocked the way to the bathroom and grabbed Roman in a big warm hug. "I'm sorry, Uce."

"Me too." Roman whispered before pulling away and going into the bathroom to change.


	5. Sorrow and Self-Pity

When the alarm rang the next morning, Roman was already awake. He hadn't been able to sleep at all, but he pretended to so Jey could sleep without worrying about him. He had lay in bed and replayed his and Seth's relationship in his mind right from the first moment they had met, from being co-workers, to team-mates, to friends, and eventually to lovers. He knew that Seth lived for wrestling but he never thought that he would use someone so cruelly to get to the top.

He had cried quietly not wanting Jey to hear him and wake up. When he stopped crying, he started thinking about himself. Maybe he really wasn't good for anything other than as Seth's plaything. He was single, no man had ever wanted him for a serious relationship, he had changed careers and worked hard but the fans rejected him at every turn. He was letting Hunter down after all the faith he had showed in him when he was put in The Shield and he had put so much of his time and love into Seth that he didn't have many friends anymore. Roman felt like he had failed at everything in his life.

When the alarm went off he got out of bed slowly and started getting ready for the day. Jimmy and Jey tried to get him to go down to the hotel restaurant with them, but he didn't want to see anyone so he ordered himself some room service and stayed in the room. When it arrived, he just picked at his western omelet because he didn't really have an appetite but he drank his orange juice and ate a piece of toast. He covered up the remains of his breakfast so his cousins wouldn't worry and he looked at himself in the mirror. Even he could admit that he looked like crap, his face was pale, he had dark circles and his eyes were bloodshot. He had eye drops to fix his eyes but he had to hope that the makeup staff could work miracles.

Roman sat down on the bed to wait and pulled out his phone. A part of him hoped to see a message from Seth saying that everything he had said was a joke or a lie, but of course there were no messages from Seth. He put his phone down and turned on the TV, hoping for a distraction from the tears he felt trying to get out.

* * *

Roman and his cousins arrived for Raw and Roman rushed to their locker room, hoping to avoid Seth. He refused to go to catering with them for something to eat and when they came back Naomi was with them and she brought him a plate. He hated to see her with the same pity in her eyes, but he gave her a light hug and thanked her even though he wasn't hungry. He took a few bites while they watched him, but dumped the mostly full plate in the garbage when they went to do their makeup.

When Raw started, he watched on the monitor as Seth bragged about winning his belt back and how Roman was a fool to believe he could beat Seth and Roman agreed with him in his head. When it came to Seth, he was the world's biggest fool. Just looking at Seth hurt him in ways he couldn't have imagined and he remembered Seth calling him pathetic yesterday. He agreed with that too, he was pathetic.

He watched as Sami Zayn danced down to the ring with his new Money In The Bank briefcase and had a confrontation with Seth before Kevin Owens rushed down to the ring and they both beat him down. Roman sighed and turned the monitor off, not being able to look at Seth for a minute more. Roman tried to get his head together before he went out for his match, praying he wouldn't see Seth for the rest of the night before he did something stupid like beg Seth to take him back.

* * *

Roman fought his match practically on auto-pilot and walked back to the locker room. He looked up and saw Seth and Hunter smiling and talking by Hunter's office. He watched from behind some stage equipment and the fact that Seth was smiling at Hunter tore at his heart. He wanted to be the one that made Seth smile now and forever and he had even fantasized about marrying Seth someday. He shook his head feeling even more foolish as he realized how one-sided their relationship had been. He had made Seth his everything and Seth made him nothing.

Seth and Hunter moved towards the office door and Hunter wrapped his arms around Seth and kissed him passionately. Roman gasped aloud at the sight even as tears welled up in his eyes. Hunter pushed Seth into his office and closed the door and Roman sank down to the floor and wrapped his arms around his knees. He lowered his head down and didn't fight the tears any longer, he didn't care who saw him anymore-as far as he was concerned he didn't have anything to live for.

It was Cesaro that eventually found him and brought him back to his locker room. He shooed Cesaro away telling him he was fine now and changed into his street clothes. He quickly texted his cousins to tell them that he was going to walk to the nearby hotel before shutting his phone off. He didn't feel sad anymore, he just felt numb and he walked to the liquor store he saw close to the arena. He bought a couple bottles of hard liquor, not even caring which ones they were and walked to the hotel. He got himself a single room and went upstairs to hopefully drown his sorrows.

Roman set his bag down and opened a bottle, not bothering to look for a glass and drank straight from the bottle. He sat down in the low chair thinking about what Hunter and Seth were probably doing in Hunter's office. Was Hunter treating him well or was he just using his body? Did he know how much Seth loved to be kissed on his neck? Did he know that Seth was ticklish under his arms? Did he make Seth blush by telling him how pretty he was? Did he love Seth the way he needed to be loved?

Roman took another long drink from the bottle and put his head back on the chair starting to feel a mild buzz from the drink and the fact that he had barely eaten all day. He didn't know if he would ever get over Seth, most times it felt like his heart beat solely for him and that his purpose in life was to make Seth happy. He didn't know how he was supposed to live without Seth. Maybe he shouldn't even try.


	6. All is Not What it Appears to Be

The door closed behind Hunter and Seth was finally free to talk. "What the fuck was that kiss?" he yelled wiping his lips with disgust.

"Your boy was watching so I thought I would give him a little show." Hunter laughed and sat down on the corner of his desk. "I swear I saw his heart break right there, it was beautiful."

"You're a sadistic bastard." Seth said flopping down on the sofa. "Isn't he hurting enough already."

Hunter's smile fell. "As far as I'm concerned he hasn't suffered nearly enough. I want him destroyed and you're just the little fag to help me."

"I still don't get your reason for doing this to Roman." Seth said quietly.

"You don't need to, all you need to know is that by breaking his heart, you saved his job along with his cousins and Naomi's." Hunter smirked and moved behind his desk. "Hell, you're a hero."

"Yeah right." Seth said sarcastically. "I'm sure they would see it like that."

"Who cares." Hunter said. "We both got what we want. You got your title back, the Samoans and family keep their jobs and I get to see Roman suffer, it's win-win all around."

* * *

Seth went back to his hotel room-well technically it was still his and Romans but of course Roman was somewhere else, hopefully with his cousins who would take care of him. He sighed and threw himself back on the bed and grabbed the hoodie that Roman had forgotten when he left and brought it to his nose. It still smelled like Roman, that intoxicating smell that was only Roman, like coconut and the spicy cologne he wore. Seth had slept with it in his arms last night letting the smell soothe his pain a little.

Hunter had come to him the night before the PPV and told him in no uncertain terms to break Roman's heart as thoroughly and painfully as he could and he had laughed in his face at first. Then Hunter had proceeded to threaten to fire Jimmy, Jey, Naomi and every other person related to Roman, even the Rock if he didn't. He didn't have a choice, he knew how important his family was to Roman and that it would crush him if they were all fired and kicked out of the Hall of Fame. The thought of breaking Roman's heart made him sick but he couldn't see any way around what Hunter wanted him to do so he agreed to the whole stupid plan of taking the belt. He didn't really care about winning the belt back, he had only wanted to have a few good matches with Roman and spend more quality time with him. He hadn't lied when he said that he knew he would have another run with the belt but he hadn't wanted to take it from Roman, not at all. He was proud of Roman but he never got the chance to tell him. There were so many things he never got to tell him.

Seth buried his head deeper into the hoodie and tried not to cry. Breaking up with Roman had been the hardest thing he ever had to do and the look on Roman's face when he had done it devastated him. The door had barely closed behind Roman before he had broken down in tears and sobbed until he was sick. He wanted to chase after Roman and hold him and tell him how much he loved him but he knew he couldn't. He had stumbled back to his hotel room and cried again seeing all of Roman's stuff gone until he found the hoodie. He had grabbed onto the hoodie and lay on the floor wondering what Roman was doing and hoping he was okay.

Seth heard a loud knock on his door and wondered who it could be at this late hour. He stuffed Roman's hoodie under his pillow and walked over to open the door. As soon as the door started to open a heavy weight fell against it and the door crashed open.

"R... Roman!" Seth said in shock as Roman stumbled into the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Take me back, Seth." Roman slurred as he lurched forward and tried to pull Seth into his arms. "I don't care if you only want me for my body, I need to be with you."

Seth stopped in shock and Roman swept him up into his arms and held him tightly. He wanted to hug Roman back but he knew he couldn't.

"Hunter will never treat you like you deserve to be treated." Roman said burying his face in Seth's neck. "Let me be with you again. I can forgive you for what you said and did, but I can't live without you."

Seth knew he had to end this now so he pushed Roman's chest with all his might and Roman stumbled back and fell to the floor. He ran over to make sure Roman wasn't hurt and Roman reached out for him and as much as it hurt, he backed away from Roman. Roman fell back on the floor, tears running down his face and he passed out.

Seth turned away and grabbed his phone with shaking hands and called Jey. The phone rang for a while but no one answered so Seth called Jimmy figuring that if he didn't answer, he would try Naomi next. Jimmy did answer after the fourth ring.

"What do you want Rollins?" Jimmy asked angrily.

Seth summoned up all of his asshole persona. "Your cousin showed up at my room drunk out of his mind and passed out. Come drag his sorry ass out of here, I've got company coming."

"We'll be there in a few minutes." Jimmy grumbled. "Just stay away from him until then."

"No problem." Seth said cooly. "There's nothing I want from him anymore."

Jimmy ended the call with a decisive click and Seth was sure that if Jimmy could have slammed the phone, he would have.

He turned back around and looked at Roman passed out on the floor. He quietly sank down on his knees next to Roman and gently stroked his hair, hoping it wouldn't wake him up. Even unconscious he could see the pain on Roman's face and he felt so guilty for hurting Roman like this. He leaned over and lightly brushed his lips over Roman's forehead and he heard an angry knock on his door. He took a deep breath and stood up, hoping he could act well enough until they left. He stood up straight and walked over to the door, adopting a casual stance.

"Hey Usos." he said arrogantly. "Sure took your sweet time getting here."

The twins didn't respond, but pushed past him and walked into the room.

Jimmy crouched down and looked Roman over. "Uce, are you okay?"

Jey leaned over and slapped Roman's face lightly. "Uce, wake up."

Roman murmured but didn't get up so Jey slapped him a little harder. "Wake up!"

Roman blinked his eyes a few times and opened them. "Seth?"

"Get up man." Jimmy said, pulling on Roman's arm. "We'll take you back to your room."

Roman slowly managed to get to his feet with his cousin's help. "What are you talking about?" Roman asked in confusion. "This is my room."

Seth crossed his arms and scoffed. "Not anymore, it isn't."

Roman looked up into his eyes and the pain Seth saw there made him want to fall to his knees. He swallowed. "Can you hurry it up guys, I got company coming."

Roman's eyes flashed with awareness. "It's Hunter isn't it?"

Seth smirked. "You bet it is, he's insatiable."

Both Usos looked at him with disgust and he had a feeling that if they weren't holding Roman up, he would be suffering from two very real super-kicks.

Seth opened the door with a flourish and gestured them outside. The three walked out the door and Roman looked back at him. Seth closed the door quickly so Roman wouldn't see the tear sliding down his face.

* * *

Seth woke up the next morning feeling drained as usual. His dreams were always about Roman, how he looked when Seth had broken his heart, how broken he looked last night and he could barely sleep at night. It was a good thing he had stocked up on eye drops and concealer to hide his dark circles and red eyes, he was the champ and he had to look like he was on top of the world even though he felt lower than dirt. He got ready and had breakfast before going to a day full of interviews and photoshoots before he had to be at the arena for Smackdown.

When he finally got to the arena there was chaos. He grabbed the first stage hand he saw and asked what was going on and he found out that Roman had been suspended for a wellness policy violation. He didn't know what was going on but it seemed like everyone backstage was gossiping about Roman and wondering what he was on. He heard so many nasty comments and his heart sank as he realized that Roman's reputation was being tarnished. He walked to Hunter's office with his fists clenched, trying hard not to hit anyone that dared to talk shit about Roman and by the time he got there, he was almost running.

He knocked on the door and waited, tapping his foot impatiently before he heard Hunter's voice telling him to come in. He stormed into the office and flopped down on the chair in front of the desk. "What's going on with Roman?"

"He's been suspended for 30 days effective immediately." Hunter said leaning back in his chair, smug satisfaction practically pouring off of him.

Seth frowned. "What did he do?"

"Last night he assaulted a fellow Superstar while under the influence of alcohol." Hunter said smirking.

"Who did he assault?" Seth asked, confused. It must have been before Roman went to his room because he knew the Usos wouldn't let Roman out of their sight in that condition. "And that's not a violation of the wellness policy."

"A little birdie told me that Roman showed up drunk to your room last night and whether you agree or not-he assaulted you." Hunter grinned evilly.

"He did not!" Seth yelled. "You're doing this on purpose to humiliate Roman aren't you?"

Hunter slammed his fist on the desk. "Of course I am! He humiliated me and nobody gets away with that. Nobody!"

Seth sat in his chair trying not to lunge over the desk and beat Hunter to within an inch of his life. He'd never hated anyone more than his boss and if he thought that Hunter wouldn't blacklist him with every wrestling outfit in the world, he would follow up on that beating, WWE be damned.

"You should be happy." Hunter said smugly. "If it wasn't for our little arrangement, I would have fired his ass instead of giving him a vacation. He won't even miss Battleground."

Seth scoffed. "Whatever."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Don't be a drama queen, we need to talk business. I want you to go out there and rip him apart on the mic, humiliate him and make the smarks hate him even more."

"Fine, but this is it." Seth growled out. "Nothing you think he did to you is worth him suffering more than this. It's over now, you got your payback, understood?"

Hunter smiled. "Do a good job tonight and I will consider it finished."

"Good." Seth said as he got up and left the room before he did something very justified to Hunter. He cursed this situation and the man responsible and himself for hurting Roman. He didn't deserve Roman anyway.


	7. Confessions

15 days. Seth only waited 15 days before the desperation to know how Roman was doing had eaten at him enough to get answers. He didn't think he could ask the Usos, their glares as they passed in the halls told him exactly how they felt about him but they were the closest to Roman and he didn't have anyone else's phone numbers. He decided to try and get Jimmy alone, Jey seemed to be more hostile towards him and he didn't think he would talk.

He watched Jimmy leave the locker room talking on the phone, probably to Naomi who was out injured and he quietly followed him down the hall towards catering. He saw Jey in catering and thought that Jimmy was probably going to go join him and he knew he had to act fast. Jimmy said goodbye and put his phone away and Seth grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the doorway hoping Jey hadn't seen them.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jimmy asked angrily as he shook Seth's arm off of his.

Seth shuffled from foot to foot nervously. "How's Rome?"

Jimmy scoffed. "As if you care."

"I do care." He said quietly. "Just tell me if he's okay. Please?"

Jimmy sighed heavily. "No. I don't want you and Hunter laughing about him while you do whatever heartless monsters do together."

"I don't want anyone to know we even had this conversation." he said quickly, almost wanting to beg. "Please, I won't say a word to Hunter or anyone else."

Jimmy looked at him hard for a long moment. "He's bad, really bad. He can't sleep, only eats if we make him and drinks a lot. Are you happy now?"

"No, I'm not happy." Seth said sadly. "Thanks for telling me."

Seth walked away feeling so much despair for what he had put Roman through, not noticing the thoughtful look on Jimmy's face.

* * *

They were near Roman's home that week and Seth knew he had to go and see him. He wasn't sure what he was going to do when he got there, but he had to try and help Roman. He was feeling a little paranoid about Hunter finding out so he switched rental cars with Cesaro and made the drive down to Roman's home. He wasn't sure what he was going to find when he got there, how Roman would react or how he himself would react, but he couldn't live with himself anymore knowing that Roman was suffering so much.

He pulled into the drive way just after dark and the sight of Roman's warm home lifted his spirits. He got out, walked up to the front door and smoothed his hair down and fixed his clothes, really just stalling for time. He should have spent the drive up thinking about what he was going to say but his only thought had been getting there and seeing his love. He took a deep breath, made a fist, rapped on the door and waited.

A few seconds passed and the door slowly opened. Seth looked up into Roman's bloodshot eyes and he almost whimpered at the pain etched on Roman's face.

"Hi." Seth said quietly.

"Hi." Roman whispered back.

Seth shuffled his feet. "Can I come in?"

Roman paused and looked him over before moving to the side to let Seth in.

The room behind Roman was messy, beer bottles littered the floor and it was dark. Roman usually kept his house as neat as a pin and bright, even at night. Now that he was here and could see for himself what he had done to Roman, he wanted to cry and beg Roman to forgive him or hit him, he didn't know which.

Roman closed the door and walked passed him sinking down on the couch and grabbing a nearby beer. He looked terrible, bloodshot eyes, messy hair, unkempt beard, tired, drawn face and old ratty sweat pants and t-shirt. Seth slowly walked to the overstuffed, comfortable chair he liked to sit in when he was here and sat down facing Roman.

Seth cleared his throat loudly then cringed. "So..."

Roman sighed. "What do you want?"

"Are... are you okay?" Seth asked and immediately wished he hadn't. Roman obviously wasn't okay.

"Sure." Roman said taking a big drink of his beer and belching loudly. "Couldn't be better."

"There are some things I need to tell you that I should have before." Seth said seriously. "Please listen and then I'll go away and leave you in peace."

Roman laughed harshly. "Get on with it then. The sooner you start, the sooner you can leave."

Seth took a deep breath. "First off... I love you."

Roman's head whipped over to look at him.

"I've loved you for a long time but I was too scared and stupid to admit it." he continued. "I knew you wanted to be in a real relationship but whenever you tried to bring it up, I distracted you on purpose because I would panic."

Seth glanced at Roman and saw that he had his complete attention. "When I got injured, part of me was glad because I thought that I would get over you if I just avoided you, but I didn't. I had a lot of time on my hands and I did a lot of thinking and I realized that I did want that kind of relationship with you and I couldn't wait to get back to you."

Roman looked like he was going to say something but he closed his mouth and shook his head.

"I was going to tell you I loved you as soon as I saw you but I chickened out." Seth said sadly. "I saw you and I was worried that you would be mad at me for avoiding you but you weren't and I thought, you know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. We had been together for years without big declarations of love and I thought that I would wait for the perfect time to tell you."

"Let's say I believed this." Roman said quietly. "Why did you do what you did?"

"The day before Money in the Bank, Hunter tracked me down at the gym. He knew we were together and he had a plan." Seth said leaning forward in his chair. "He hates you and he told me that I had to break your heart as cruelly as possible and he was going to reward me with the belt. I laughed in his face and told him to go to hell but he had another trick up his sleeve."

"What was it." Roman said leaning forward on the couch with questioning eyes.

Seth swallowed nervously. "He was going to fire you, Jimmy, Jey, Naomi and everyone else even remotely related to you and kick your family out of the Hall of Fame, even The Rock. I know how important your family is to you and I knew it would break your heart if they lost their dreams too and you would blame yourself."

Roman clenched and unclenched his fists in his lap.

"He wanted it to be as cruel as possible that's why I didn't warn you about the change in the match and I told you all of those horrible lies about us." Seth slumped back in his chair, feeling so low.

"Why come here and tell me all this?" Roman asked.

"I didn't think what I did would hurt you so much. I mean, you're amazing and I'm just a spoiled brat that doesn't deserve you." Seth said quietly. "I never understood what you could possibly see in me and I was sure you would move on. When I forced Jimmy to tell me how you were and he said you were taking it so hard, I had to come and tell you what happened so you would know how I felt about you and that your were lucky to be rid of me."

Roman grunted.

"I'm so sorry for all the pain I've caused you, not just for breaking up with you but for all the years we were together and I never told you how I really felt. I... I guess I'll go now." Seth said getting up. "When you come back, be careful of Hunter. He said he's done screwing with you, but I don't know if we can trust that."

Roman looked up, his face unreadable. "Are you with him now?"

"What?!" he asked in disbelief. "Hell no, he only kissed me once and that was because he saw you looking at us. He's straight but even if he wasn't, just the thought of being with him makes me sick."

Roman's lips quirked up in a quick smile. "At least your taste in men hasn't deteriorated."

"Only the best for the champ." he joked sadly as he walked over to the door.

"Seth?" Roman asked quietly. "Were you really going to tell me you loved me?"

Seth turned around and looked Roman in the eye as a tear fell down his face. "Yes. At SummerSlam I was going to ask you to move in with me."

Seth turned around again and reached for the door knob.

"I would have said yes." Roman whispered.

Seth closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening the door and leaving Roman again.


	8. Protecting Us

Roman slept well that night, better than he had since 'the betrayal' anyway. Knowing that he hadn't been imagining things and that Seth did have feelings for him made so much difference. He wasn't going to sit around feeling sorry for himself anymore, he had a goal now. He had 15 days left, 15 days to get his shit together and come up with a plan. He needed to make Hunter pay for everything he put Seth and him through and he needed to do it in a way that wouldn't affect their jobs. His only goal for the foreseeable future was to destroy his boss.

* * *

The last 15 days passed quickly for Seth. He was still sad but he felt a little less guilty after telling Roman the truth but he didn't have any hopes of a future with Roman anymore. Even if Roman could forgive him and wanted to be with him again, Hunter would never allow it and he had spies everywhere. During work hours, he plastered a cocky smirk on his face as he carried his ill-gotten title around and tried to pretend that the looks The Usos sent him didn't hurt or that the conspiratorial looks from Hunter didn't make him want to kick his ass. At night, he still wrapped himself in Roman's hoodie, most of Roman's smell had faded by now but he couldn't let it go, it was the closest he would ever get to being wrapped up in Roman's arms again.

* * *

Roman had calmed down during those last few days. Logically he knew that he couldn't destroy Hunter, but he did know that he had to remove the threat to him, his family and Seth. He had a plan but he couldn't do it alone, he needed help from someone he could trust. He picked up his phone and called Naomi.

* * *

His return at Battleground was less triumphant than he would have liked, interrupting the match between Seth and Sami to get his scripted revenge and cause a disqualification. That was actually the least exciting thing that happened that night. Naomi had done her part to help to get their plan underway while he was gone and now Roman just had to sit back and hope everything went according to plan. The cameras and audio equipment were all set up and now it was up to Hunter to make the first move.

Roman stood in a closet, staring at his phone at the video feed of Hunter's office. So far everything was running like normal and Hunter hadn't done anything to get himself in trouble yet. He couldn't risk listening to what was happening in the room in case someone else came in and heard what he was listening to. He saw Hunter's lips moving before he turned his head towards the door. Roman stood up straighter, this could be it!

Roman watched the screen as Summer Rae sauntered in wearing a sexy red dress and sat down in a chair in front of Hunter's desk, crossing her long legs. Hunter smirked at her and Roman wanted to reach through the screen and throttle him, in a way he had hoped that his plan would fail but now it looked very likely that it was going to succeed. He watched them talk and knew that Summer Rae would be flirting like she had for the last 13 or so days and Roman could almost see Hunter's ego growing by the second. Summer Rae stood up and went around the desk and started massaging Hunter's shoulders slowly and Roman could tell by the look on Hunter's face that he was enjoying every second of it.

Suddenly Hunter grabbed Summer Rae's hand and brought her around in front of him and slid his hands up her thighs to her hips. He tugged her down and she straddled him before he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her lips down to his in a passionate kiss.

That was Roman's cue. He opened the closet door across from Hunter's office and barged in, startling Hunter into pushing Summer Rae off of him. Summer hit the floor hard and Roman walked over to her and helped her up so she could leave. Hunter was standing, panic written all over his features as Roman walked Summer Rae out the door and closed it behind her. Roman turned and walked to the chair in front of the desk with a smirk firmly in place on his face.

"I really thought that this wouldn't work." Roman said calmly, raising his phone. He played the video he had just taken of Hunter kissing Summer Rae. "I was sure you would never cheat on Stephanie."

"Give me that video now!" Hunter raged, slamming his hands down on the desktop.

"Relax." Roman said putting his phone away. "I don't have any plans to show it to anyone-unless I have to."

"What do you want?" Hunter growled out.

"That's easy." Roman said seriously. "Leave me, my family, Seth and Summer Rae alone."

"Fine." Hunter gritted out. "You win."

"Good, the video stays with me and no one else will ever see it." Roman said putting his phone away. "Tell me, why you would cheat on Stephanie? I thought you loved her."

"I do love her!" Hunter yelled.

"Shoving your tongue down another woman's throat is a funny way of showing your love." Roman said sarcastically. "Not to mention kissing Seth."

"Steph's the one that's cheating, not me." Hunter said, collapsing back in his chair. "She's getting some on the side so why can't I?"

Roman sat back in shock. "She's always been so devoted to you and your kids. You're the love story that everyone wants."

Hunter scoffed. "Yeah, says the man trying to take it all away from me."

Roman scrunched his forehead up in confusion. "I told you that no one will see the video if you just leave us alone."

"I'm not talking about the damn video." Hunter said angrily. "I'm talking about the fact that you and Stephanie are screwing around behind my back!"

Roman was well and truly shocked. "What are you talking about? You know that I love Seth."

Hunter laughed harshly. "Like that would stop you from screwing your way to the top."

This time Roman laughed. "I'm GAY, if I was trying to screw my way to the top, I'd be seducing you not your wife."

Hunter grew quiet and thoughtful. "Maybe she just has a crush on you then."

"I can guarantee that she has never been anything but nice to me, no flirting, no looks, no touching." Roman said quietly. He felt bad for Hunter even after what he made Seth do. "Most of the women and about half of the men have hit on me since I came to this company but Stephanie has never been one of them. The both of you are like mentors to me and I would never do something like that."

"Maybe I can believe _you_ but how do you explain all of the interactions between you leading up to our feud?" Hunter asked. "And all the times I saw you talking in the hall and... you speared her at Wrestlemania."

Roman sighed. "The spear was her idea. She knew I would get a pop for it because she's a heel and she hoped it would turn the crowd to my side. All the stuff in the ring with her and with Vince was all Vince's idea, I don't have any pull with either of them." Roman said tiredly. Everything he and Seth had gone through was all based on a misunderstanding. "When we talk she always shows me pictures of you and your kids and tells me how proud she is. Does that sound like someone trying to seduce a guy?"

"No, it doesn't." Hunter said quietly.

"Look, I don't know the intimacies of your relationship but I think she is completely in love with you." Roman said with total seriousness. "She gets the same look on her face when she looks at you as I do when I look at Seth."

Hunter sat with a thoughtful look on his face.

Roman pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and sighed deeply, not even believing what he was about to do. "I may be a fool for believing you but I don't want to damage your relationship. I'm going to delete the video because I have first hand knowledge about how bad you must have felt to do what you did to us but now that you know the truth, I hope that everything is done."

"It is, I swear." Hunter sat forward in his chair, a hopeful expression on his face.

Roman showed Hunter the phone screen as he deleted the video, his only way of protecting his family, Seth and himself. He really did believe that everything had been caused by a simple misunderstanding and that Hunter had been hurting just as much as Roman had for the last month.

Hunter watched the video as it was deleted and smiled a relieved smile. "Thank you for that Roman. I can't apologize enough for what I did to you guys but I am sorry for what I did."

"Apology accepted." Roman said as he held out his hand and Hunter shook it eagerly. "But if you really want to make it up to me, you should apologize to Seth, he was hurting just as bad as I was."

"I intend on it, Summer Rae too." Hunter sighed regretfully. "I wasn't really interested in her but I was feeling so sad and jealous and I wanted to feel... wanted, I guess. In case you haven't noticed, you're really handsome and younger so I was feeling stupidly insecure."

"I understand." Roman said with a soft smile. "You can also make it up to me by going to Stephanie with a huge bouquet of flowers and totally sweeping her off her feet. Tell her that she's the best thing that ever happened to you and that you don't deserve her and that she's the love of your life."

Hunter smiled genuinely. "I will, it's all the truth anyway."

Roman smiled back. "Well, I better get going, I've got a lot of explaining to do."

"I hope that you and Seth can get back together. I feel terrible about breaking you two up." Hunter said, shaking his head sadly.

"He and I have a lot of talking to do before that happens. We have years of misunderstandings to talk through." Roman said as he headed for the door. "See you later Boss."

"Later." Hunter said with a little wave "And thanks for everything."


	9. Our Past, Our Futures

"So you're sure we're not going to get in any trouble?" Naomi asked nervously. Roman had called for Naomi's help to find someone that they could trust to try and seduce Hunter and she was the one that asked Summer Rae for help.

Roman smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure. Hunter doesn't even know that you were involved, as far as he knows Summer Rae and I were in on it together.

"I'm so relieved." Summer Rae said, hugging Roman briefly. "Trying to seduce Hunter was so creepy. Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy, but he's our boss and married to one of the greatest women I know. It just felt so wrong."

"I know but thank you for helping us, you helped save all our careers." Roman said genuinely.

"You're welcome." Summer Rae said with a sneaky grin. "Besides, Naomi said that you would set me up with one of your sexy Samoan cousins as thanks."

Roman laughed. "I can't believe you two. Okay, okay, I'll invite you to one of our family gatherings and make sure to introduce you around."

Summer Rae squealed in happiness. "Yay."

Roman just shook his head in amusement.

Naomi pulled Roman aside. "Stop stalling and go talk to Seth. The waiting will only make it worse for both of you."

"Yeah, I know." Roman said back.

* * *

Seth was easy to find, he was getting dressed after his shower in his locker room. Roman knocked on the door. In the past he would have just opened the door and gone in but they didn't have that kind of relationship anymore. He listened and heard Seth's "Come in" and opened the door.

Seth was just pulling his shirt down over his abs when Roman opened the door and the sight of Seth's tanned skin was so inviting that he almost forgot that they weren't together anymore. That skin was not for him to touch, kiss or lick anymore and he had to get used to that.

"Roman, it's... good to see you back again." Seth said quickly and in a higher pitch than usual. You look... good."

Roman walked further into the room and closed the door. "Thanks, may I come in."

Seth was fidgeting nervously. "Of course, of course. Have a seat."

Roman walked over to the sofa and sat down. He had never felt this awkward with Seth before, everything between them had always been easy. The first time they kissed, the first time they made love, it had all been so natural and now just being in the same room together was awkward.

"Um..." Roman started. "The stuff with Hunter is all taken care of now, we're all safe."

Seth blinked in confusion. "What?"

Roman settled back on the sofa and sighed. "I set up an elaborate plan to blackmail him and it succeeded but what really happened was we got to talking and everything came out in the open."

Seth sat down on the bench across from Roman. "Okay, so what was the deal?"

"He thought that I was screwing around with Stephanie." Roman said with a little blush. He felt shy talking to Seth about anything sexual that didn't involve only the two of them.

"But that doesn't make any sense, he knew that we were gay and together." Seth said rubbing his furry chin.

"Oh he knew how much you mean to me but he assumed that I was just opportunistic and would screw anyone to get ahead." Roman said, putting his head back on the sofa. "He wanted to break my heart like I supposedly broke his."

"What a fool." Seth said with a shake of his head. "If he knew you at all he would know that you would never cheat. You're too good."

Roman wanted to grab Seth and haul him over the distance that separated them and smother him with kisses, but he knew he couldn't. He didn't know how Seth had hidden his feelings for so long when all of them showed so clearly in his soft brown eyes. Seth did love him, but that didn't make things any easier.

"I just wanted to tell you that everything's okay now and that we're safe." Roman said looking wistfully at Seth.

"Thanks." Seth said, looking at Roman with just as much longing. "I'm glad you and your family are safe."

They sat there silently looking at each other for a long time, Roman trying to figure out what to say and Seth doing everything he could not to leap across to the sofa and beg Roman to take him back.

Roman cleared his throat. "I love you Seth, but I don't think we should be together anymore."

Seth gasped but he hid it because he knew it was coming, but knowing it and hearing it were two totally different things. "I'm not happy about it, but I will respect your decision. It's the least I can do after everything I put you through."

The look on Seth's face and the little sound he had made almost made Roman take his words back, but he couldn't. He was doing the right thing. "It's just... we spent our whole relationship scared and unsure about where we stood. I couldn't hold your hand, cuddle with you or tell you that I loved you without worrying that you would leave me and never look back. It's not healthy, it's toxic. You were my everything for years and you made me afraid that if I looked at you for too long, I would lose you. I know now that you were scared too, but I don't think I can get over it, there's too many hurt feelings."

Seth's chin trembled. "I understand but just so you know, you were my everything too."

Roman blinked his eyes rapidly to stop the tears he felt trying to come out.

"I know I don't have any right to ask this, but... may I have a hug?" Seth asked sadly.

Roman's heart leapt. Seth had never asked for a hug before. "Of course."

They both stood up at the same time and moved towards each other like magnets were pulling their bodies together. Seth slid his arms around Roman's waist and buried his face in his neck and Roman put his arms around Seth's shoulders and closed his eyes.

Seth inhaled deeply, savoring Roman's scent one last time as tears stung his eyes. "I love you, Roman."

Roman's eyes popped open in surprise and he held Seth a little tighter. "I love you too."

* * *

A month passed and both men were moving on. Seth was still sad but not miserably so. He knew that it would take a long time to get over Roman and he wasn't going to try and rush through it. He took this time to be by himself and learn about himself and mentally, he was feeling stronger. He and Roman were co-workers but didn't try to avoid each other and he thought that in time they might actually be real friends again.

He was walking backstage one night before Raw when snippets of a conversation filtered through a partially open door.

"Come on Uce, it's time to start dating again." One of the Usos said. "This guy is perfect for you."

"Yeah." The other Uso said. "He's tall, handsome, blonde, smart, funny and he works out."

"Where did you meet him?" Roman asked.

"At a gym downtown, he's a successful lawyer."

"I don't know..." Roman trailed off.

"We're not asking you to bang him or anything, just meet him."

Seth could swear he felt his heart shatter in his chest. _Roman was dating already, it had only been a a month!_ He took a deep breath, no matter what he wanted Roman to be happy, maybe this new guy could give Roman everything he deserved.

"Okay, I'll go out with him." Roman said with a sigh.

Seth turned around and walked away, trying not to feel the despair rising within him.


	10. Breathless

The next month crept by for Seth. He saw and even talked to Roman multiple times but he never asked about his new relationship. He wanted to know if the new guy made him happy but at the same time he would resent it if Roman said yes. He wanted to be the one that made Roman happy.

Worst of all was the fact that he did know all about their relationship because Jey saw fit to tell him about it at every opportunity.

 _"_ _Did you know Roman's new boyfriend works in Family Law? If he and Roman ever want to adopt, he can handle all the legal stuff himself."_

 _"_ _Roman says that he and Greg are a perfect fit, yin and yang."._

 _"_ _The family loves Greg. He's the best guy Roman's ever dated."_

 _"_ _Roman says he's the happiest he's ever been."_

Every time Jey told Seth something new, his heart broke a little more but he wanted Roman to have everything he wanted and deserved so he made peace with it. At least he did during the day.

At night as he lay in bed alone, he couldn't stop thinking about Roman and Greg. He thought about Roman kissing his tattoos and wondered if Greg had any, he thought about Roman brushing the long strands of hair out of his face and smiling so tenderly. Did Greg have long hair? He thought about Roman running his fingers through his chest hair and wondered if he did that to Greg too. And what did Greg do for Roman? Did he trace Roman's tattoo with his fingers and watch the goosebumps rise? Did he kiss that little bit of belly that Roman was so shy about? Was he too submissive? Roman didn't really like that, he liked someone who gave as good as he got. Most importantly though, did he tell Roman he loved him like Seth never did? Those thoughts drove him crazy but whenever he saw Roman smiling, he realized that all he really wanted was Roman's happiness.

* * *

Eventually it was time for Clash of Champions and Seth was set to defend his belt against Kevin Owens. Roman was watching the match on the monitors back stage like he always did. Seth was an amazing wrestler and even after breaking up, Roman felt a sense of joy watching Seth do something he loved so much. He watched Kevin do a Gutbuster on Seth from the second rope and he knew from the look on Seth's face that something was wrong. The match continued on as planned but Roman could tell that Seth was in pain. The match came to an end with Kevin pinning Seth to win the belt but Seth wasn't moving as much as Roman would have liked.

* * *

Seth was lying on his back in the ring. Something was wrong with him and he wanted to get out of there as fast as he could. He didn't want the fans to know that he was hurt or take the focus off Kevin's victory celebration, he had earned his right to celebrate. He slowly rolled out of the ring and the ref helped him backstage. By the time he got there, he knew that he was in real trouble. No matter how hard he tried to breathe, he just couldn't get any air in and he was starting to panic. He tried to grab on to someone that was walking by and it turned out to be Nia Jax.

"I-I-I c...ant bre...athe!" He choked out to Nia and he felt himself starting to go limp.

Nia frantically called over Chris Jericho who had just come up from celebrating in the ring with Kevin and the both of them hauled-carried him over to the doctor.

Seth was trying to gasp in big breaths and his eyes were wild. "R-r-roman." he whispered.

"Do you want me to find him?" Nia asked as she and Chris helped him up on the doctor's examination table.

"No... don't... tell... him." he gasped out. The doctor shooed Chris and Nia away before starting his examination.

"Calm down Seth and take slow breaths." The doctor said as he put his hand gently on Seth's chest. "That's it, slow and steady."

It took a while but he was able to calm down enough to speak normally but he did feel a small pressure when he breathed deeply. The doctor figured out that he had injured his ribs but he didn't know how badly yet. The doctor left to make an appointment for x-rays at the local hospital tomorrow and Seth tried to lay still and rest even though his wrapped ribs were killing him.

He heard the door creak open and turned his head expecting to see the doctor but it was Roman's beautiful face that he saw instead.

"Hi." Roman said as he walked into the room. "Are you okay?"

"It's my ribs." he said with a pained voice. "Won't know how bad it is until tomorrow."

Roman walked closer and put his hand down gently on Seth's bandaged ribs. "Will you have to go to the hospital tonight?"

"Doc said I can go back to the hotel, he's making arrangements for an x-ray and stuff tomorrow." Seth said, looking at Roman's big hand still resting on him. "I can leave when he gets back with the info."

"Cool." Roman said, moving back to the door and bringing a bag back with him. "I brought your stuff."

"Great." Seth said looking over at his stuff. "Can you help me up so I can put a shirt on, it's cold in here." He was still in his ring attire and his sweat had cooled and dried on his bare chest.

"Sure." Roman said before he bent over Seth's bags. "Do you have any shirts that aren't tight?" He asked quietly as he rummaged around. "Aha."

Seth watched Roman walk over carrying his own hoodie for Seth to wear. The same hoodie that he still slept with every night even though he had washed it a few times and it didn't smell like Roman anymore. He hoped Roman wouldn't notice that it was his hoodie.

Roman put the hoodie down on the table and slid his arm around Seth's shoulder and effortlessly helped him sit up and sit on the edge of the table with his legs dangling down. He went to reach for the hoodie but Roman beat him to it and he ever so carefully helped him into it, even zipping up the zipper.

"Thanks." Seth said quietly, overwhelmed by Roman's presence, all he could do was stare into Roman's eyes.

Roman looked deep into his eyes. "You're welcome." Their tension filled stare off was interrupted by the return of the doctor.

"You're all set for tomorrow at 9:00 for your x-ray. Until then, don't take anything stronger than Advil." The doctor said. "Also, you shouldn't be alone tonight."

"Don't worry Doc." Roman said putting his hand on Seth's shoulder. "He won't be."

* * *

Seth still didn't know what was going on. One minute Roman was promising the doctor that he wouldn't be alone and the next, Roman had bundled him up and helped him out to the car and they were now pulling up to the hotel.

"Thanks for the ride man." Seth said as he fumbled to open the door.

"Stay right there." Roman said before jumping out and hurrying around to Seth's side of the car. Roman opened the door and wordlessly helped him out and into the hotel.

Seth was tired and sore but he appreciated Roman so much for being willing to help him out like this. "You're a good friend Roman."

Roman smiled. "Of course, you're not that hard to take care of."

Seth scoffed. "You're the only one that would say that."

Roman smiled wider and the elevator arrived at Seth's floor. Seth shuffled to the door and Roman opened it with the key card although Seth had no idea where he got it from. He shuffled over to the bed so he could rest for a few minutes and Roman pushed him down so he was lying.

"Why did you do that? I need to take a shower." he said looking up at Roman towering over him. "I'm all sweaty from the match."

"Don't move from there." Roman said as he moved toward the door.

"But..." Seth started.

"No shower." Roman said before walking out the door.

Seth felt sad that Roman wasn't going to stay or at least say goodbye before he left. Roman must still be mad at him. He lay back and smelled himself and crinkled up his nose in disgust. "I really need a shower."

He slowly and carefully got off the bed and moved into the bathroom. He took off Roman's hoodie, folded it and put it on the counter before trying to shimmy out of his tight pants. By the time he was fully naked, he was tired again but didn't want to waste time resting so he got into the shower and turned it on. He couldn't waste time enjoying the hot spray so he picked up the soap and started washing the sweat and grime from his body. His hair was equally gross but he wasn't sure that he would be able to raise his arms to wash it.

Suddenly the shower curtain was roughly pulled aside and an angry and very naked Roman walked in behind Seth.

"You just couldn't wait, until I got back could you?" Roman said before picking up the shampoo. "What if you fell while I was gone. You could have hurt yourself."

Roman was lathering up Seth's hair and Seth was finding it hard to think as he started to get aroused. "I didn't think you were coming back."

"I told you and the doc that you wouldn't be alone tonight, remember." Roman said before guiding Seth's hair under the water to rinse the shampoo out.

"Sorry, I forgot." He said when Roman started conditioning his hair. It was hard to keep acting like this was normal and that the love of his life wasn't standing naked behind him. He didn't know if he should curse or thank his injured ribs. By now Roman's gentle hands, the fact that they were naked and memories of the countless times they had fooled around in the shower, had Seth harder than he'd been since their last time together. He didn't know what to do, he wouldn't be able to hide it from Roman.

Roman rinsed his hair for the final time and turned the water off. Seth was too embarrassed to turn around but Roman wrapped a towel around his hips and turned him around anyway. Roman didn't look down and if he knew that Seth was hard, he didn't acknowledge it. Seth looked down to Roman's towel and saw that he wasn't hard at all. Seth's heart sank when he saw that Roman wasn't turned on, usually he didn't have to do anything but take his clothes off and Roman would instantly be hard.

Roman sat him down on the closed toilet and proceeded to dry him off gently. He ran his hand down Seth's ribs and Seth looked down at the large bruise that was now there.

"I'll wrap your ribs again in a minute. Stay here." Roman said before leaving the room. When he came back he was wearing sleep pants and a t-shirt and was carrying a pair of boxers. Roman made quick work of bandaging Seth's ribs again and then helped Seth stand. Roman dropped down to his knees and pulled Seth's towel off much to Seth's surprise but before he could say anything, Roman slipped the boxers on him.

"That should do for tonight." Roman said. "You've been moving around way too much and I can see how tired you are."

Seth nodded and went to say something but before he could Roman swept him up into his arms. Seth gasped.

"Did I hurt you?" Roman asked in concern.

"No. I was just surprised." Seth assured him.

Roman carried him into the bedroom and the blankets were already turned down so Roman gently put him down and tucked him in.

"Are you comfortable?" Roman asked. "Do you want some Advil."

Seth nodded. "Yes to both questions."

Roman dug around in his bag and and brought out a bottle of Advil and went to the mini fridge and got a bottle of water. Seth swallowed the pills down and settled in to sleep. He watched Roman walk to the other bed and get in under the covers. He couldn't believe Roman was actually going to spend the night to take care of him.

"Wake me if you need anything or if you need to go to the bathroom. You don't leave that bed without my say so, understand?" Roman said sternly.

Seth smiled and nodded. "Okay."

Roman smiled back. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Roman." Seth said and Roman shut the light off.


	11. Redesign, Rebuild, Reclaim

Night passed easily and Seth only had to wake Roman up once to go to the bathroom. Seth seemed better in the morning with less pain and Roman was hopeful that his ribs were just bruised and not cracked or broken. They had breakfast and Roman drove them to the hospital for Seth's x-rays. It was strange how normal everything felt between them, like they had never broken up, except for the awkward shower last night. It hadn't even occurred to Roman that Seth would get turned on in the shower, he had assumed that Seth would have been in too much pain. He had been far too worried to get turned on himself but when he saw that Seth was, suddenly all he wanted to do was make him feel good, but he didn't dare. His feelings for Seth had never gone away or lessened in the slightest. He was sure that he would love Seth forever.

The hospital visit went smoothly and just like Roman suspected, Seth's ribs were only bruised. Seth would miss a few weeks in the ring and that was all. They had packed up their luggage before they left for the hospital and Roman was driving them to the airport so Seth could fly home and rest his ribs.

Even though Seth insisted that he didn't need help, Roman helped him out of the car before getting their luggage out and dragging both sets of luggage behind him. Seth wouldn't be doing any lifting at all as long as Roman had a say in it.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done for me." Seth said as they were waiting for his plane to Iowa. "You don't have to wait around for the plane, I can get on without hurting myself."

Roman smiled. Seth still didn't get it. "I know you can but how am I going to get on the plane if I leave?"

"What?" Seth asked with a confused but hopeful look on his face.

"I'm coming home with you dummy." he said trying not to laugh at the shock on Seth's face. "I've got a few days before I have to be on the road again so I might as well spend it taking care of you."

Seth was speechless until his mouth started moving but still nothing came out.

"Just say 'Thank you Roman, you are as kind as you are handsome.'" Roman grinned.

Seth looked down at his folded hands. "Thank you Roman, you are as kind as you are handsome and I don't deserve your friendship."

Roman frowned and put his arm around Seth's shoulders. "Our romantic relationship might be over but our friendship isn't. I still consider you my best friend but if you really don't want to be my friend anymore, I can leave."

Seth reached over and gripped his jacket tightly. "NO. I want your friendship."

"Good." Roman said watching the relief spread across Seth's face. "Now just sit back, relax and let me take care of you."

Seth smiled a small smile and nodded.

* * *

Seth had a hard time getting comfortable on the plane ride and had been in pain but as soon as they got into their rental car, he dropped off to sleep. Roman drove to a nearby grocery store to stock up on supplies knowing Seth wouldn't have left much in his refrigerator before leaving the last time. He picked up lots of the healthy foods that Seth liked and things that would be easy to prepare after Roman went back to work. He also picked up some food so he could cook a nice big meal tonight.

When he got back to the car, Seth was still asleep so he got in as quietly as he could and drove them to Seth's house.

He shut off the engine and turned to Seth. "Wake up baby boy, you're home." Roman cringed when he realized what he had just said and hoped that Seth hadn't heard him.

Seth blinked open his eyes and gave him a sleepy smile and Roman's heart melted at the soft smile that he had never seen on Seth's face before. He quickly got out of the car before Seth could notice anything was wrong and went around to Seth's side to help him out. He helped him out of the car and into the house before taking him upstairs one step at a time being so careful not to hurt Seth's ribs.

Seth shuffled into the bathroom and Roman went to take some comfortable clothes out of Seth's drawers. He found a loose t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants and put them on the bed before waiting for Seth to come back.

When Seth finally emerged from the bathroom, Roman helped him into the comfortable clothes and tucked him into bed with his pills and a glass of water.

"I'll leave your phone next to you." Roman said as he closed the window blinds so Seth could sleep. "Call or text if you need anything, and don't even try going down the stairs without me, okay?"

"Okay Rome." Seth said sleepily.

Roman smiled and left the room, shutting the door behind him. He went back out to the car to grab both their bags and brought them into the house. He was about to take the bags to the laundry room so he could wash their dirty clothes when he walked by Seth's wrestling memorabilia.

Just like Roman, Seth had lots of Shield photos, DVD's and other merchandise but it was the action figures that caught his attention. He looked closely at his and Seth's action figures and saw that they were holding hands. He didn't know how Seth managed that, it was hard enough for Roman when he had made his action figure put his arm around Seth's. He shrugged and continued on to the laundry room like he had planned but the toys holding hands still bothered him. Surely Seth had just forgotten to move them apart, he couldn't still have feelings for him. He couldn't still want them to be together, could he?

Roman shook his head and vowed not to think about it anymore. He opened both their suitcases and and started sorting their laundry. He picked up Seth's hoodie and finally realized why it had looked so big on Seth yesterday, it was his hoodie, not Seth's. _Why is he traveling with my hoodie?_ He put the hoodie in the washing machine and turned it on. Roman continued on into the kitchen to start preparing dinner, countless thoughts running through his mind.

* * *

Seth texted him a few minutes after Roman slid the lasagna into the oven so he climbed the stairs and saw Seth sitting on the edge of the bed. Seth was looking better and the pain lines around his eyes and mouth were gone.

"If I sleep anymore, I won't be able to sleep tonight." Seth said quietly. "Can I go downstairs?"

"Sure, it's your house." He said, helping Seth off the bed. "Let's go."

They slowly went down the stairs and passed the kitchen.

"What smells so good?" Seth asked.

"Dinner." He responded. "I'm making lasagna."

Seth grinned widely. "Awesome, my favorite."

"Really?" Roman questioned as he guided Seth to the living room. "I didn't know that."

Seth's face fell. "I didn't tell you a lot of things."

Roman chose not to comment as he helped Seth get settled on the sofa. He passed him the TV remote and went back into the kitchen. For the first time since the break-up, he felt awkward around Seth and he didn't know why so he decided to start cleaning the mess he had made while he was making dinner.

When he finished cleaning, he tossed together a small salad to go with the lasagna and went to help Seth to the table. Dinner was awkward and Seth tried to start a few conversations but Roman had too much on his mind to really talk so they both finished their meals in silence. Roman helped Seth back into the living room and went to wash the dishes.

Just as he was close to finishing, his phone rang and he saw it was his cousin Jey so he put the phone on speaker.

 _"_ _Uce."_

"Hey man, what's up?" Roman replied with a smile.

 _"_ _Not much, just wondering if you want to do something."_

Roman paused. "I can't, I'm in Iowa right now."

 _"_ _Are you with that weasel Rollins?" Jey asked angrily._

"Yes, and don't call him a weasel. He's hurt and he needs someone to take care of him." Roman said defensively.

 _"_ _I can't believe you are letting him use you again." Jey huffed out in frustration. "Let someone else take care of him for a change, you know that he probably has a few different guys on stand-by. Why does it have to be you?"_

"Because I still love him, that's why!" Roman yelled just as angrily. Seconds later he heard a small whimper coming from the doorway and he looked up at Seth standing there looking so small and vulnerable. Roman hung up on his cousin and went over to Seth and wrapped his arms around him gently.

"I'm sorry, but I still love you." Roman said. "I tried to stop, but I can't stop loving you."

"I don't want you to stop." Seth whispered. "I still love you too. But, what about Greg?"

"Who?" Roman asked as he helped Seth back to the sofa.

"Your boyfriend... handsome, athletic, talented, smart, funny, perfect... the lawyer Greg." Seth said with derision.

Roman laughed. "We went out twice and how do you even know that?"

"Jey tells me all about it and how happy you are with him." Seth said, tears threatening to fill his eyes. "He's much better than me and I think you should stay with him."

Roman sat down next to Seth and held his hand. "Listen to me okay. We went out twice a couple of months ago. He was nice but we didn't click so we decided not to see each other again. We didn't even kiss or anything."

"But why would Jey lie?" Seth asked, his chin quivering with emotion.

"I can only assume that he was trying to protect me." Roman said, sliding his arm around Seth's shoulders. "He's seen how hard it's been for me hiding my feelings all these years and he wants me to be happy."

"I'm sorry about all those years." Seth said quietly, leaning into Roman's embrace.

"I know and it's not even all your fault, I could have spoken up about what I was feeling." Roman said rubbing his hand over Seth's arm soothingly. "Let's leave that all in the past and move on, okay?"

Seth leaned away and looked up into Roman's eyes. "Move on as in together or separately?"

"Together... if that's what you want." Roman said shyly.

Seth threw his arms around Roman's neck and kissed him. "Together."

Roman kissed him back. "Forever."

They pulled away, looked into each others eyes and smiled.


End file.
